Amelia and Michael

Amelia and Michael is a 2007 British drama short film directed by Daniel Cormack, starring Anthony Head and Natasha Powell and executive produced by Richard Johns.

[3][4] Amelia (Natasha Powell) and Michael (Anthony Head), a smartly dressed middle aged couple, sit in silence in the back of a chauffeur-driven sedan as it pulls up at the lights beside a motorcycle.

Back in his office, Michael is interrupted by his colleague Francis (Julian Lee) in the middle of booking an anniversary meal and hotel room for Friday.

Restlessly trying to sleep after she leaves, he is interrupted by a phone call from Francis, who has discovered his whereabouts in order to urgently discuss 'the Thompson case'.

While tidying away the opened mail, Amelia discovers Michael's unused passport in a kitchen drawer, but before she can confront him, she receives a phone call from the hospital.

The film was shot on a relatively low budget and saved money by making extensive use of product placement, securing free goods and services from Jaguar Cars, Bupa, the Royal Park Hotel, Margaret Howell and the West Cornwall Pasty Company.

[15] As a result, it was the subject of a case study at the Encounters Film Festival during the panel discussion Brands and Filmmakers: "in essence [Daniel Cormack] just smiled sweetly, asked for favors as he went along, and got them" although using genuine expensive brands ran into problems "when he found himself pondering the use of real diamonds rather than fakes" before realising that the "hundreds of thousands of pounds worth" of jewellery would have to be insured and that costume jewellery would easily suffice.

[16][17] Nonetheless, as Anthony Head noted: "Amelia and Michael was a learning curve for director and producers and by the time we finished they had made really good use of the facilities they managed to blag.

"[43] Hotdog remarked that "this short is beautifully shot, gently taking its time to unfold, and the presence of actors like stage and screen veteran Head really raises the bar a notch", concluding that "despite the sombre subject matter, there's a strange comfort to be found in the final minute of the film" and that "on this evidence, Cormack is a young director to watch.